May 13, 2016

Is this Trump's voice? If it is, does it matter? If it doesn't matter, is it because: 1. It's from 25 years ago, 2. It's got nothing to do with any relevant political issue, or 3. A man trickily defended himself to somebody who probably understood what he was doing.

If it is Trump, is it in the same league as the way Ben Rhodes and Barack Obama played the media relative to the Iran deal? Which is the worse activity -- attempting to deceive a journalist about Trump's relationship with Marla Maples or actually deceiving the American people about the negotiations with a country that is probably developing an atomic bomb?

As for Bill Clinton, once a horn dog always a horn dog. Chemical castration may slow him down but not much less than that.

If Trump wins the presidency, then Carla Bruni may have a unique distinction -- mistress to both the future Presidents of both France and the United States.

If Donald Trump represents himself as someone else, my fine hostess, he is lying. It is one more piece of evidence that The Donald is a man of many dishonest traits, unless of course his solipsistic mind does not allow him to recognize right from wrong. Ted Cruz called him a pathological liar and that indeed appears to be the case.

Why would anyone want a mentally-impaired person with his finger on the the button? Remember what PJ said: "This man just can't be president," O'Rourke said, alluding to the nuclear codes the commander-in-chief takes control of upon assuming office. "They've got this button — this briefcase. He's going to find it."

1. It was a creepy story, from the beginning. Not as in, the reporter was creepily stalking someone. No, ma'am. This was fully, wholly, totally self-inflicted by Trump. A grand example of Trump's singular weird creepiness.

2. I think it is clearly (laughably) Trump on the tape; anyone who thinks otherwise is free to make an ass of themselves and go on the line, on the record, taking Trump's side. Newspapers and mainstream outlets are staking their reputations on the line, saying they think it was Trump. Remember that there is a track record; namely, Trump's own punking the NYT as "John Baron" of the Trump Organization supplying front-page quotes in the matter of the Bonwit Teller building destruction.

3. Assuming, arguendo, that it was Trump, he lied about it today. He ended one interview in an apparent phone hang-up. But in two others, he said he knew nothing about it, that it didn't sound like him and he doesn't think it was him. It was eerily reminiscent of Trump's saying that Michelle Fields "faked" the incident in West Palm Beach. This is Bill Clinton-level lying; staring into the camera, biting the lower lip in faux-determination, squinting and snarling the answer... I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky...

I don't understand what has happened to your mind, Professor Althouse. This is a sociopathic level of lying from Trump, and built upon a peculiarly sociopathic incident to begin with.

Which subdivision of sociopathy does Trump occupy? I'm quite serious. I am not a student of psychiatry.

Putting together a handful of the best of the Trump stories, what sort of mental derangement do they outline?

~ There's the new Trump-as-John Miller audiotape. And the denial of same.

~ There was the $5 billion defamation lawsuit over the estimation of his net worth. Trump's suit was dismissed, but not before Trump was deposed, with the now famous quote from that transcript about his net worth was fluctuating and based on such things as how The Donald felt.

~ There was the Tweet, which I can only quote, because no one could make something up that was so delightfully insane: "Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest -and you all know it! Please don't feel so stupid or insecure, it's not your fault"

~ There was the book of Hitler speeches, and the lies about its provenance after Trump was outed by Ivana for having kept it near his bedside.

~There was the years'-long obsession with Graydon Carter after a Vanity Fair piece referred to Trump as the "short-fingered vulgarian." In which Trump sent to Carter published photos of his hands weeks and months and years after the original quote. And not just photos; photos with Trump's hands circled in a gold Sharpie, with comments as to the size of his hands and annotated with references to the length of his fingers.

Understanding that no professional would engage in a formal diagnosis based upon anecdotes and without an examination of the subject/patient, I'd still like to get a general description of this pattern of behavior.

Now that Trump, Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein have all been referenced, we can thank Ace of Spades for tying everything together.

Palm Beach billionaire Jeffrey Epstein is a financier and political donor. He is also a convicted sex offender who is the subject of ongoing litigation from at least a dozen of his then-underage victims...

Trump's attorney Alan Garten told VICE News last week that the presidential candidate had "no relationship" with Epstein, and only knew him because Epstein was a member of Mar-A-Lago, Trump's private club and residence in Palm Beach.

"A lot of people hung out there, including Jeffrey Epstein," Garten said. "That is the only connection."

But according to someone with intimate knowledge of the situation, Trump and Epstein appeared to have a somewhat stronger connection.

"I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy," Trump told New York Magazine in a 2002 profile of Epstein written three years before Epstein began to be investigated. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it -- Jeffrey enjoys his social life."

Althouse, it's no skin off my nose if you want to trash Bill Clinton with more of the Jeffrey Epstein filth. Have at it. Good luck.

Just understand that that particular story is not one that Scott Adams' "Master Persuader" is likely to make use of himself.

Because, uh... well I will just leave you with the link, and then I am going to wash my hands:https://news.vice.com/article/the-salacious-ammo-even-donald-trump-wont-use-in-a-fight-against-hillary-clinton-bill-clinton

"I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,'' Trump told New York magazine in a 2002 profile of Epstein written three years before Epstein began to be investigated. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life." Donald Trump in New York Magazine, 2002.

How is this different from stories based on discussions with "a senior administration official" that the press just loves to do? When the press knows that it was Obama or Bush or Rumsfeld or Ben Rhodes? But we don't. The "senior official" stories are about matters of significant national significance. Trump--if it was Trump--is giving them material for the gossip page.

gadfly said... If Donald Trump represents himself as someone else, my fine hostess, he is lying.--Lying Trump!Actually, he admitted this to Marla.But hey..#NeverHil makes all good..don't critique!!Big Mike said...If it is Trump, is it in the same league as the way Ben Rhodes and Barack Obama played the media relative to the Iran deal?

Well..as AltTrump has suggested, it was long ago..he didn't have the power to eff up on behalf of all Murica. But that can change... Yay us!

1. Trump has a very bad character. He is a liar. There will be way more stuff like this. But he won and the GOP is stuck with him. But on a character basis, Hillary is way worse than Trump. And his policy positions are better than Hillary's.

2. The energy company is based in Hastings, Nebraska. Scott Kleeb ran for the House and Senate from NE. This is a typical corrupt Dem green energy deal. Just like that entire industry. No federal tax credits means no Tesla or Solar City.

The interesting thing to me is that Jane Kleeb lead the effort to stop Keystone XL pipeline. She made all the difference, She fired up the lawsuit that stopped everything in NE. Mrs. Clinton had authority over the pipeline. I wouldn't be surprised if Bill Clinton shorted TransCanada stock.

The deal got money to the Kleebs and if the Clintons or their friends shorted TransCanada stock, they made money. Sure thing money.

I joked about 'the Canadian menace' when Transcanada, was pushing the AGIA, after Buffett had collapsed support for other pipelines, because flaming cars of conflict of interest, after 8 years, not only did they dismantle the pipeline agency, but nearly all oil exploration has been forced out of Alaska,

Is Trump punking a reporter worse than Hillary Clinton sitting next to Bill and them claiming to the American public that he did not have extramarital affairs? Clinton on Flowers '92 is a classic. (For some reason the link is not being allowed. So check youtube) Is Trump's prank worse than Hillary lying about Clintons' extramarital affairs in the White House after all that? "How Hillary Clinton dealt with the Monica Lewinsky scandal when she was in the White House" (For some reason the link is not being allowed. Check google) The Clintons’ performances make Trump look like a complete amateur but I guess people have short memories and even less critical thinking.

Bill Clinton asks the press back in '92, "Are we going to engage in a game of gotcha?" And yet the Hillary campaign via the Washington Post wants to get into this sort of thing. Looking at the comments they certainly know their readers.

I think the Epstein story is weird. He was a high school teacher. This gave him access to a lot of teenage girls.Next thing you know, these Wall Street big wigs are cutting him in on deals. He's making a lot of money. Which he uses to guy a mansion on an island. He stocks the island with young girls and invites the rich and famous to hang out there. And he surreptitiously films them with the girls in the massage room.

With all the voice-print technology available today why would the Washington Post, a newspaper openly hostile to his candidacy, rely on opinion as to whether the voice is genuinely that of Donald Trump? Why not nail him with unambiguous data? The answer that occurs to me is ambiguous or contradictory test results. If one is looking for dirt and can't find it honestly, there are ways to "enhance" the truth. For example...

Get a sense of humor. Trump is a bon vivant and a joke teller who pulls everyone's leg for fun.

And once a man of any reputation has been interviewed by a member of the Journalism profession, he has learned to take this approach with them or just refuse to speak to them at all, because every word said will be twisted into a misquote to make you look evil or insane.

And Trump loves talking. He just really loves it. Twitter was invented for him.

R Chatt,There is no way to compare Trump in office vs Clinton in elected position, Trump never occupying one.But wouldn't it be more adult of Trump to frame it the way you want to?"I was just having some fun. Everyone likes fun, right? Fun! America needs fun!"

Remember my crazed conspiracy theory about how the HRC entourage has probably been compromised by a foreign intelligence agency? Now, think about how much money Epstein could get from Russian or Chinese intelligence if he provided video to them of former President Bill Clinton getting fellated by some attractive 16 year old girl. Why, a man could keep his little pleasure island afloat for quite some time with that kind of cash inflow.

To better understand The Donald, remember that he is a competitor that uses his words as a wrestler uses his moves to take down, and to control and to pin the other guy, but he never allows his opponent to reverse his words on him.

Beat him if you can. But he never beats himself. And he anticipates your moves before you do.

Trump has classic Narcissitic Personality Order. CLASSIC. Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of ultraconfidence lies a fragile self-esteem that's vulnerable to the slightest criticism.

@ girlfriendofthestars...You are totally ignorant of what Narcissistic Personality Disorder actually is and you are also ignorant of Trump's personality for saying that Trump has shown a lack of empathy.

The man's family and thousands of long term close friends have testified the opposite about him...including his ex-wives.

And Narcissistic Personality Disorder's signature trait is the capturing, the using and then the discarding family members and friends as if they never existed.

Blogger YoungHegelian said...@Terry,And he surreptitiously films them with the girls in the massage room.Remember my crazed conspiracy theory about how the HRC entourage has probably been compromised by a foreign intelligence agency?

I hadn't heard your theory. The Hillary email server thing boggles the mind. We have teams of experienced agents trying to hack the comms of foreign leaders, even our putative allies. Hillary was SoS, and first lady before that. She had to know this. Yet she kept a poorly managed private server to receive and send sensitive information? How many agents did Putin assign to Hillary? This is a consequence of the typical Leftist focus on internal opposition to their regime. They compare terrorist attacks by ISIS and al Qaida to natural disasters. The essential difference between natural disasters, American would-be terrorists, and foreign terrorist organizations (and foreign nations) is that natural disasters are random and our security can't touch the foreigners. American right wing terrorist groups are fractured. they aren't under centralized control. They are haphazard. Unlike domestic terrorists, foreign terrorists learn from their mistakes. They probe. They escalate their attacks when they can.

I think that I have quoted this, from Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy, here before:"Dearths, tempests, plagues, our astrologers foretell us; Earthquakes, inundations, ruins of houses, consuming fires, come by little and little, or make some noise beforehand; but the knaveries, impostures, injuries and villainies of men no art can avoid. We can keep our professed enemies from our cities, by gates, walls and towers, defend ourselves from thieves and robbers by watchfulness and weapons; but this malice of men, and their pernicious endeavours, no caution can divert, no vigilancy foresee, we have so many secret plots and devices to mischief one another."

Today, as the presumptive Republican nominee for president faces questions about his attitudes toward women, what stands out to some who received those calls is Trump’s characterization of women whom he portrayed as drawn to him sexually.

The Post is trying to establish a damned if you do, damned if you don't dilemma for Trump, which he will likely avoid by ignoring it and them. Here's how they hope the dilemma will develop: Trump has had three very beautiful wives. This fact suggests several trappy explanations for which Trump has offered the least damaging version — But here's the kicker — they aren't damaging to Trump personally, they're damaging to the wives, past and present, and by extension to all women.

EXPLANATION 1: All three were deeply, spiritually in love with Donald Trump. So how did they fall out of deep spiritual love? Was he cruel or emotionally abusive? In the case of Ivanna it doesn't appear so. It looks like she charged him a bundle to be rid of her, and her kids who all stayed with their father. The implication is women are flighty, inconstant creatures whose deep spiritual emotions are changeable, a highly provocative and "offensive" opinion to hold howsoever traditionally true.

EXPLANATION 2: They were attracted to his money. Women have this reputation of being attracted to wealth and power, which modern feminists would rather debunk than admit; consequently No. 2 is also highly provocative to the usual suspects and best avoided howsoever likely in at least one case.

EXPLANATION 3: Sexual attraction, which is often mistaken for love. However mere sex bores one in direct proportion to one's depth of character — the more well-rounded you are the quicker a mere sexual interest wears thin. This problem effects both sexes, but probably men more than women. If sex was the trying bind in the Ivanna and Marla alliances then their failure is more his fault than theirs, or one could reasonably assume so. No. 3 doesn't insult women generally, and that's why the Post would rather Trump suggest No. 1 or No. 2

Lucky for Trump is the obvious fact that he's a bit more sly than most of his critics. They lay traps for him constantly, yet the vulpine billionaire deftly eludes them, What the editors of the the Post don't realize is that's why Trump is the master of the art of the deal and they aren't.

I take note that Newt Gingrich, who is a good judge of Character, sees the resolve and strength his long time friend Trump uses, when he is performing in a battle for us, to be a peculiar asset of the man. Not a weird defect like the paid trolls are salting the comments with tonight.

Newt will be VP if he wants it. He and Trump have a similar world view and a mutual respect.

The DSM used to class homosexuality as a mental disorder. Things change. It turns out that the DSM classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder was simply an opinion of its authors, and this opinion could be changed by threats and blackmail.

eric said...Isn't Epstein a kiddy diddler or something like that?The fact that he and Bill flew together that many times suggests Bill is also a kiddy diddler, doesn't it?

In my opinion, Epstein too clever to use obviously underaged girls. His girls tended to be in their mid to late teens, old enough to tell their clients that they were eighteen. The blackmail would come in when a client thought he was, technically, safely (or legally, anyhow) screwing a woman of eighteen and not a girl of fifteen. Epstein, of course, knew the truth.

The Epstein story reminds me of something that happened in my young adulthood:Me: "Your friend threw up all that Southern Comfort. I thought you said she knew how to drink? Anyway, now she's passed out on my bed."Girl Friend: "Passed out? What are we gonna do?"Me: "Where's she live? We'll take her home and let her roommates take care of her."GF: "She lives with her parents."Me: "Her parents? How old is she?"GF: "Fifteen."Me: "AIEEE-EEE-EEE!!!!"

And the irony of ludicrous distraction when that has been the basis for about 99% of Trump's campaign so far ie ludicrous distractions. Talking about specifics re: policy positions, not so much. Of course it's hard to talk about policy specifics when he changes his positions daily. Again, quite the chameleon!

The Post is trying to establish a damned if you do, damned if you don't dilemma for Trump

The post appears to be tying very hard this election cycle to get Trump. The first I noticed it was with the fake Michelle Fields "assault". But ever since then I've noticed a theme among his right leaning critics. They quote the Washington Post now as if it were the Bible.

I find it fascinating. Why isn't the New York Times coming after Trump like the Post is? Is it because Trump is a new Yorker and he knows times people? Has the duty been relegated to the Post because they are in D.C. and they are the establishment paper?

It's very interesting to me how obvious and overt their hatred of Trump is and how they spin every story to the negative in regards to Trump.

"has classic Narcissitic Personality Order. CLASSIC. Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of ultraconfidence lies a fragile self-esteem that's vulnerable to the slightest criticism."

Why isn't the New York Times coming after Trump like the Post is? Is it because Trump is a new Yorker and he knows times people? Has the duty been relegated to the Post because they are in D.C. and they are the establishment paper?

Trump threatens DC rice bowls more than NYC ones. This simply mirrors the national mood.

Hilarious news. Trump leaked this John Miller tape to WaPo himself just to punk them. They played it up and it doesn't show anything except Trump pulling their leg. The master part is he did it without giggling.

Hilarious news. Trump leaked this John Miller tape to WaPo himself just to punk them. They played it up and it doesn't show anything except Trump pulling their leg. The master part is he did it without giggling.

The 20 or so Bezos busybodies (Bezosbodies?) aren't going to like that version of events, Tradguy. They dug this up all by themselves. They are "researchers."

This story, such as it is, just reinforces the theme that Trump is a pathological liar. So looking at the big picture probably doesn't matter much as voters already know he's a pathological liar.

So if we want somebody honest, we should vote for Hillary? LO FUCKING L. You know that there is still an honest person in the race, don't you? But you don't want him, you want Hillary! So spare us your concern for honesty Shill.

It's a relief not to be troubled deciding how my wages are best spent. Comforting to just ship it to the Government and let them handle it. A real blessing such clever and honest people are willing to carry that burden in public service.

If Bill Clinton was all mixed up in some Mar a Lago Billionaire Boys' Club sex ring type of thing, I can tell you one remaining candidate who was not involved in any way, who polls better than Hillary against Trump. But we would rather spend the 2016 campaign throwing mud rather than arguing ideas any day, so Hillary vs Trump it is!

Because we want to give Bill another office with staff and interns in the White House!

Haven't heard the audio but I clicked on the link for the transcript and as I expected, the is zero probability that tha5 wasn't Trump. I don't think anyone else could adopt that same speech pattern that well if they tried, and it makes no sense that a publicist who was "new" would be speaking that way (the only chance that it was remotely believable would be if this was a long term close associate of his because people do sometimes pick up speech patterns.)

As to whether it matters? Probably not because the people who will vote for him don't care and the who care won't vote for him.

For me it was funny because there's a person I once worked with who shares some of his traits, and she did this sock puppetry thing too,

"An American bard at last! One of the roughs, large, proud, affectionate, eating, drinking, and breeding, his costume manly and free, his face sunburnt and bearded, his posture strong and erect, his voice bringing hope and prophecy to the generous races of young and old. We shall cease shamming and be what we really are. We shall start an athletic and defiant literature. We realize now how it is, and what was most lacking. The interior American republic shall also be declared free and independent.... "Self-reliant, with haughty eyes, assuming to himself all the attributes of his country, steps Walt Whitman into literature, talking like a man unaware that there was ever hitherto such a production as a book, or such a being as a writer. Every move of him has the free play of the muscle of one who never knew what it was to feel that he stood in the presence of a superior. Every word that falls from his mouth shows silent disdain and defiance of the old theories and forms. Every phrase announces new laws; not once do his lips unclose except in conformity with them.... "Also, actresses, beautiful ones like Lily Langtry and Sarah Bernhardt, are constantly telegraphing him and wanting to go out with him."

You're the one complaining about lying while supporting Hillary against Sanders, Shill. You explain to me then how the issue of lying leads you to vote for Hillary over Trump, since you brought it up. After all, you are smart and I am a "fucking idiot," just possibly if you explained your reasoning, I could understand it! Naah! But it would be one more way for you to rub my nose in my stupidity, so why not give it a try?

Maybe he is just defending Hillary's lies by saying "But Trump's a liar too!" That makes sense. Since it is the level he thinks at, he can't imagine any other motivation.

I wonder if Trump ever lied to the families of people who died due to his bumbling misjudgments next to the coffins of their loved ones... That would be a good thing to throw in Trump's face, that's for sure!

Epstein likes to tell people that he's a loner, a man who's never touched alcohol or drugs, and one whose nightlife is far from energetic. And yet if you talk to Donald Trump, a different Epstein emerges. "I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,'' Trump booms from a speakerphone. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it -- Jeffrey enjoys his social life."vsTrump lawyer Alan Garten told FoxNews.com in a statement Trump and Epstein are not pals.“There was no relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump,” he said. “They were not friends and they did not socialize together.”